Supervisors Indicated Performance has Declined Overall Since May 2020, While Agents Indicated that it has Improved.
The perception of agents is much more optimistic than their supervisors. In the 5th Talent November 2020 Report, the perception of leaders was that performance was at or below pre-COVID-19 levels.

The Top Work Arrangement Choice is 100% Work at Home. However, Most Employees Do Not Want to be 100% Virtual. Only 2% Want to Return to the Center 100% of the Time.
In May of 2020, the top choice was a mix of working at home and in the center. Now 69% of employees say they want to work at home 100% of the time, yet still want access to the center for training, meetings with their supervisors and team, and for social activities.

The Work at Home Model Continues to Face Challenges that Impact Long-Term Sustainability
As with previous studies, many employees who work remotely expressed that it requires more effort to work with each other, that they often face feelings of isolation and loneliness, and that they are experiencing growing fatigue. The supervisor is experiencing more challenges than agents due to the new “physical gap” between them and their team.

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Organizations Need to Invest in Supervisors Who are the Key to Extending Company Culture to Remote Employees
Supervisors must effectively bridge the newly created “physical gap” in the work at home model in order to sustain performance levels. Organizations can support them by reducing their span of control, as well as the span of control of their managers, providing high-quality training for leading remote teams, and giving them additional support from IT, HR, and subject matter experts.

Implement a Mixed Model to Improve Sustainability and Reduce Costs
A model that allows employees to work between home and center provides most of the benefits of being a remote worker while reducing many of the negative social effects. It allows supervisors and agents to occasionally meet face-to-face which is something both are missing. Agents want to retain access to the center even though they want to spend most of their time working at home.

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